Brady scores for GOP but collision sends rep to hospital

HEATH HIXSON

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, July 22, 2003

In an valiant attempt to relive his youthful baseball days, Brady, R-The Woodlands, slid head first into home base during the 42nd annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game. He collided with catcher Rep. Tim Holden, D-Penn.

Brady scored a run for the GOP team, but the collision resulted in a dislocated left shoulder and a small fracture to his collarbone, causing a one-night stay in Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland.

"I wanted to score," he said Saturday by phone from his home nursing his painful injury. "When I was 18, I used to slide head first. Since I am convinced I am still 18, apparently that was the problem."

The annual baseball game between congressional Republicans and Democrats raises money for Washington D.C. area charities. The GOP triumphed, posting a 5-3 victory over the Democrats.

Brady's determined crusade to score a run for the GOP came during the first inning. The fourth-term lawmaker and recently named GOP deputy whip was the first at bat for the Republican team and the game's first batter.

After being walked, Brady — who played center field for the University of South Dakota — stole second when a ball got away from the Democrat catcher. The next Republican batter swatted a double, sending Brady around third toward home base in the hunt for the first GOP run of the game, according to Brady's recount of his drive to the plate.

Brady then collided with Holden after his slide and scored the game's first run, said Sarah Tunstall, Brady's spokeswoman, who was watching from the field's grandstands with other congressional staffers.

"He (Holden) dropped the ball and the throw was late," Tunstall said.

The crowd roared, but the pain from his injury immediately killed the cheers Brady was hearing, he said.

Brady was shuttled to Bowie Medical Center in Maryland, where he was told that he had a dislocated shoulder and a small fracture to the collarbone, Tunstall said.

Brady would later be transported to Bethesda Naval Medical Center for a CT scan, where he would stay the night. He is expected to have his left arm in a sling for two to three weeks and undergo physical therapy for six months.

"It sure is painful," Brady said.

The injury will not affect his right hand, which he uses to vote with.

"Hasn't stopped my cutting taxes hand," Brady said.

The cost of his medical bills will likely be covered under the federal medical plan for members of Congress, he said.

For the record, the game's seven innings were later played and lawmakers raised nearly $100,000 for charities. Brady also played in a Texas A&M jersey. And although he would only spend five minutes in the game, he was slated to play second base for the GOP team.